The South Tufa Area of Mono Lake is run cooperatively by Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve (a California State Park) and the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area (part of Inyo National Forest). This area is an excellent area to visit if you want to see impressive tufa towers, calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. From Highway 395, take 120 east towards Benton. Once you pass Panum Crater, look for the dirt road that heads left, toward the lake. It is a well-marked road and it's a good road even though it's unpaved. Stay to the left to head to the South Tufa Area. This is a fee area, but they do accept national park passes. The trail to the lakeshore and through the "forest" of tufa is under a mile, and it's very flat. I recommend going either early in the morning or around sunset to get the best light on the tufa.
Be on the lookout for alkali flies, brine shrimp (aka sea monkeys), and California gulls. The unusual alkaline waters of this ancient lake sustain a really unique ecosystem that sustains the bird population of the state. About 80 percent of all of California's gulls fly to Mono Lake each spring to nest. Mark Twain visited this area and wrote about it humorously in Roughing It (1872). Not understanding the ecology or natural history of the land, he wrote that its waters were not sustainable for most life ("There are no fish in Mono Lake--no frogs, no snakes, no polliwigs --nothing, in fact, that goes to make life desirable") and that its ecosystem was perplexing ("Half a dozen little mountain brooks flow into Mono Lake, but not a stream of any kind flows out of it. It neither rises nor falls, apparently, and what it does with its surplus water is a dark and bloody mystery.") Although he failed to find much appealing in Mono Lake, it is fun to read his thoughts about this otherworldy place. This site also offers a really interesting perspective on the water wars in California. The reason that the tufa towers are exposed right now is that the lake's water levels have dropped since the city of Los Angeles diverted some of the freshwater springs that once fed the lake. This is a fascinating and unusual place that is rich in both natural and political history.
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